Strawberry season is here – time to celebrate at Tanaka Farms, a family farm on 30 acres in the middle of Irvine. You can come on a tour and pick them yourself or have them delivered every week if you subscribe to the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.
“The agritourism is what keeps us in business,” says farmer Kenny Tanaka, who touts the tours, the pick-your-own-produce meals and Easter egg hunts that draw crowds every year. (Remember to register at tanakafarms.com.)
Green beans, snap peas, beets and blackberries feature among other spring-summer treats, but the strawberries, farmed vertically and hydroponically, are the signature product of the farm.
Tanaka estimates the farm grows 240,000 pounds of strawberries a year on just 6 acres with this uncommon method – a point of interest for the tourists – plus, he says, “You don’t have to bend down to pick them.”
